Water pipe with connection between receptacle and housing

ABSTRACT

A water pipe ( 1 ) comprises a housing ( 2 ) into which a receptacle ( 3 ), which has a suction connection and which can be filled with a liquid medium, and a heating chamber ( 4 ), which is connected to the receptacle via a suction hose ( 6 ), are integrated. The receptacle ( 3 ) and a housing part ( 7 ), which is located between the receptacle and the heating chamber ( 4 ) and accommodates an electronic unit, are detachably connected to one another. Furthermore, a valve ( 9 ) is mounted in the area where the mouth ( 8 ) of the suction hose ( 6 ) leads into the receptacle ( 3 ).

The invention concerns a water pipe with a housing, in which areceptacle, to be filled with a liquid medium and provided with at leastone suction connection, and a heating chamber connected to this via asuction hose are integrated, whereby the heating chamber has a holdingfixture for a capsule which serves to contain a smoke medium.

Also known as shishas or hookahs, water pipes originally come from theoriental region. In recent years they have become increasingly popular,not least as an alternative to cigarettes, especially among teenagersand young adults. Such water pipes are known from U.S. Pat. No.4,031,906 or US 2012/0042884, among others. Such a water pipe has areceptacle that can be partially filled with water or another liquidmedium. Sucking on a mouthpiece causes negative pressure in thisreceptacle. In addition, a smoke column protrudes partly into the water;this has a head piece at its upper end to receive tobacco, which isheated by charcoal lying on top of it. The mixture of air, steam andsmoke particles that is created when the tobacco is heated is theninhaled by the smoker. It is obvious that heating by red-hot charcoalcan lead to carbon monoxide poisoning, combustion accidents or, inextreme cases, even fire outbreaks. Such traditional water pipes areknown from US 2014/0,069,446 or US 2012/0,042,884, among others. Becausethe water pipes are filled by hand, the legally compliant filling of thewater pipes is often not guaranteed. In principle, water pipes knowntoday should therefore only be operated outdoors or in rooms with aguaranteed supply of fresh air. Water pipes with this technology arealso relatively heavy and voluminous, they have to be assembled fromseveral parts and are difficult to transport in their individual parts.Cleaning is also time-consuming and often does not meet hygienestandards. Electronic water pipes are known from U.S. Pat. No.4,133,318, for example, but these do not satisfactorily reduce some ofthe problems mentioned above. The water pipes known from WO 2017/080545have also proven to be particularly advantageous. However, there arestill deficits in the technology due to air escaping in the area of theconnection between the water tank and the housing of the water pipe.This transition from the receptacle represents a kind of predeterminedbreaking point with corresponding impairments with regard to handlingand smoking experience.

Thus, the invention presented has the task of creating a water pipe thatis characterised by a high level of leak tightness and thuseffectiveness for the smoking experience.

This task is solved by the receptacle and a housing part containing anelectronic unit being connected so as to be detachable, and by providinga valve in the area where the mouth of the suction hose opens into thereceptacle.

The housing of the water pipe consists essentially of the receptacle asthe first housing part, the second housing part containing theelectronics and the suction hose, and the third housing part containingthe heating chamber for the capsule, preferably in the order mentionedfrom top to bottom. The receptacle and the housing part containing theelectronic unit are connected to each other so as to be detachable andare additionally connected by a valve that ensures an improved seal,which is a particularly effective way of protecting the water pipe fromsecondary air escaping, according to the invention.

Preferably, the valve is arranged centrally for this purpose and, ifnecessary, part of the valve protrudes into the receptacle interior.

It has already been mentioned that the receptacle is located above thehousing part containing the electronic unit. In this sense, thesuggestion is that the valve should fit precisely on the suction hoseprotruding upwards from the housing part. The suction hose, the lowerend of which opens into the heating chamber and which passes through thehousing part containing the electronic unit, is connected at its upperend to the valve in a precisely fitting manner, so that no secondary aircan escape in this entire area.

In concrete terms, this means that the suction hose opens into the baseof the receptacle from below, whereby the base must be solid enoughoverall to form a stable mounting for the valve and the end of the hose.

An advisable design of the invention is one in which the base of thereceptacle has a hollow space with an integrated central mounting platefor fixing the suction hose. The mounting plate centrally positioned inthe hollow space of the otherwise comparatively solid base serves as themounting for the suction hose.

In addition, the suction hose is designed to open into the mountingplate. The suction hose thus ends in the receptacle, preferably in itsbase and, in a particularly advantageous way, in the mounting plateintegrated into the receptacle base.

It goes without saying that the suction hose and the valve are arrangedon the longitudinal axis of the water pipe, so that the suction hosedirectly finds its position in the valve when the receptacle and thehousing are assembled, e.g. after cleaning.

This type of mounting between suction hose and valve makes it seemadvantageous if the mouth of the suction hose is provided with seals inthe base of the receptacle. These provide a seal between the suctionhose and the receptacle base and/or the mounting plate located in thehollow space, so as to definitely ensure a reliable and safe air pathvia the suction hose and its connections without losses.

It has already been mentioned that the receptacle and the housing partcontaining the electronics are connected to each other so as to bedetachable. A preferred design of the invention provides for thereceptacle and the housing part containing the electronics beingconnected to each other at the edges, this is then complemented by theprecise fit between the top of the suction hose and the valve.

It has been considered, for example, that the receptacle and the housingpart containing the electronics are connected to each other via anall-round thread, a snap-in connection, a bayonet lock or an all-roundplug-in connection. The preferred design is a screw connection, athread. The receptacle is screwed onto the housing part containing theelectronic unit, which involves establishing the connection between thesuction hose and the valve. The receptacle, housing, suction hose andvalve are synchronised in such a way that the firm external connectionand the secure positioning of the valve are inevitable.

The receptacle closes with a lid at the end facing away from the suctionhose. It is advisable for the receptacle to have an inwardly protrudingcollar at its upper end and for a sealing component to be integratedinto the lid on its underside facing the collar.

An O-ring is preferred, so that a seal is already in place the momentthat the lid is connected to the receptacle. Here, too, the preferreddesign is a screw connection.

The fact that the housing part containing the electronics has switches,indicator lights, connections, etc. on its upper side is advantageous inthat these switches, indicator lights and connections are only easilyaccessible once the receptacle has been dismantled and they do nototherwise get in the way or impair the design.

The aim is to ensure a high degree of efficiency in heat transferbetween the heating chamber and the capsule inserted in the heatingchamber, which is made possible by the precise fit between the holdingfixture or parts of this holding fixture on the one hand and the capsuleon the other. The cone is essential with regard to this precise fit.This allows a particularly targeted heat transfer due to a precise fitbetween the side wall of the holding fixture that surrounds the capsuleand the capsule itself. The more firmly the capsule is positioned in theholding fixture, the more effectively the heat from outside, i.e. fromthe direction of the heating chamber, travels in the direction of thecapsule. A particularly advantageous variant for such a precise fit isone in which the side wall of the holding fixture tapers conicallytowards the interior of the heating chamber, with the cone having anangle of approx. 5° to 10°, preferably approx. 7°. An ideal geometry isachieved when the diameter of the holding fixture between the front andthe back of the holding fixture or capsule increases constantly by afactor of about 1.1 to 1.25, preferably about 1.17. According to onedesign of the invention, the holding fixture has on its outside aclosing ring extending transversely to the longitudinal axis of thehousing, into which the holding fixture for the capsule is integrated,i.e. the closing ring or heating chamber are arranged and designed tocorrespond to each other in such a way that the closing ring has acentral opening in which the capsule is positioned in the holdingfixture. Depending on the arrangement of the receptacle, heatingchamber, etc., the closing ring also forms the upper or lower end of thehousing or heating chamber. In addition, the closing ring also functionsas a stop for a collar on the capsule when the capsule is inserted intothe heating chamber. The closing ring thus ensures that the capsule ispositioned in the heating chamber, not least because the capsule has acollar with which it strikes against the closing ring.

Thanks to a mechanism for pushing the used capsule out of its positionin the holding fixture in the direction opposite to the direction ofinsertion, used capsules can be pushed out of their position in theholding fixture in the heating chamber without the user coming intocontact with parts of the water pipe that may be exposed to hightemperatures. Such health impairments due to the high temperatures of upto 200° C., which heated water pipe capsules can assume, are thus ruledout, as is jamming of the capsule when pulled out. Any capsule expansionprocesses are also irrelevant, because the capsules can be pushed out ofthe holding fixture from the direction of the receptacle in aparticularly effective way. The fact that the mechanism can be operatedfrom outside the heating chamber has the same aim, specifically tocreate a sufficient distance between the operator's hand and the heatingchamber, or the capsule inside it.

An advantageous design of the invention provides for the suction hose tobe mounted so that it can be moved in the direction of its longitudinalaxis. This is a particularly optimal solution for such a mechanism, asthe already existing suction hose has the additional function of servingas a mechanism for removing the capsules. This is done from a completelysafe distance with regard to the high temperature of the used capsulesin the heating chamber. By simply pressing the suction hose, a force isapplied to the capsule in the opposite direction to which it wasinserted. Consequently, the capsule inevitably releases from itsposition in the holding fixture in the heating chamber. For ease ofhandling, it has been considered that the suction hose is mounted sothat it can be moved against the force of a spring, so that the suctionhose returns to its starting position after use to release the capsuleand the play of the suction hose during operation is limited.

The invention is characterised in particular by the fact that the waterpipe ensures an optimum total air supply from the capsule to the airexiting through the mouthpiece. This is thanks to a special connectionbetween the water tank and the housing of the water pipe, specificallythe central housing part containing the electronics. The reliabletransport of air between the heating chamber, the central housing partcontaining the electronics and the water tank via the suction hoseensures that no air can escape there, because, when the receptacle andthe central housing part are assembled or screwed together, aparticularly secure connection is established by the valve positioned intheir centre. In addition, the suction hose opens into the receptacle,specifically into its hollow base with a central mounting plate whichserves as a mounting for the suction hose in this area of the waterpipe.

Further details and advantages of the object of the invention can befound in the following description of the associated drawing, whichshows a preferred design example with the necessary details andindividual parts. The following is shown:

FIG. 1 a top view of a water pipe,

FIG. 2 a cross section of the water pipe according to FIG. 1,

FIG. 3 a cross section of the mouth of the suction hose,

FIG. 4 a receptacle and a housing part containing the electronic unit inperspective view,

FIG. 5 a cross section of the receptacle and housing part,

FIG. 6 a longitudinal section of the receptacle and housing part

FIG. 7 a receptacle in perspective view,

FIG. 8 a longitudinal section of the receptacle,

FIG. 9 a cross section of the receptacle,

FIG. 10 FIG. 11 in detail,

FIG. 11 connection ring, holding fixture and capsule, and

FIG. 12 a spring-mounted suction hose.

FIG. 1 shows a water pipe 1, also known as a shisha or hookah, with itshousing 2. The receptacle 3 is closed at the top by lid 23. A suctionhose 55 is connected at its integral end to the connecting piece 56 aspart of the lid 23 and is fitted at the other end with a replaceablemouthpiece 57. The connection of several hoses is possible. 58 indicatesthe water level for the water stored in receptacle 3, especially sinceonly partial filling of receptacle 3 is advisable. The heating chamber,accumulator and control unit are concealed by casing 59, 60 indicatesthe on, off and stand-by switch for operating the water pipe. 10 and 10′indicate two capsules containing solid or liquid smoke media withperforations 61. The air inlet in the form of several air slits ismarked 62.

In addition, FIG. 2 shows a cross section of the water pipe 1. In thecentre marked 7 is the housing part containing the control unit,underneath is the heating chamber 4 with the holding fixture 5 for acapsule and the removable base plate 30. The thread 22 between thereceptacle 3 and the housing part 7 containing the electronics isclearly visible, so that when these two components are assembled thereis automatic positioning of the centrally positioned valve 9, which islocated in the base 12 of the receptacle or protrudes partly into thereceptacle interior 19. The receptacle 3 is screwed onto the housingpart 7 containing the electronic unit, which involves establishing theconnection between the suction hose 6 and the valve 9.

FIG. 3 first illustrates the solid, multi-layered design of the base 12of receptacle 3. The mouth 8 of the suction hose 6 is secured by threeseals in the form of O-rings 16, 17 and 18. Valve 9 and suction hose 6are positioned on a common longitudinal axis 15. A hollow spaceintegrated into base 12 is marked 13 and serves to hold a centralmounting plate 14, into which the suction hose 6 then opens veryprecisely.

FIG. 4 shows a housing part 7, which serves to contain an electronicunit, connected to the receptacle 3. A switch for operating thiselectronic unit and thus the water pipe is marked with the reference 31.

A cross section of the receptacle is shown in FIG. 5, with the centralvalve 9 and thread 22 on the outer edge 20.

This partial solution is additionally illustrated in FIG. 6 with thereceptacle 3 and the housing part 7, connected via valve 9.

FIG. 7 shows a receptacle 3 with valve 9 at its lower end 26. 22 marksthe thread on the outer edge of the receptacle 3. Its opposite upper end25 offers the connection possibility for the lid not shown here. Here,the housing 3 has an inwardly facing collar 27, on the underside 28 ofwhich a sealing component, here in the form of an O-ring 29, can befound. The lid can then be screwed to receptacle 3 via the inner thread24.

In addition, this is shown in FIG. 8, with receptacle 3 featuring theconnection to the housing part not shown here containing the electronicunit on one side and the connection for the lid on the other side.

FIG. 9 again shows a cross section of the housing 2 of the water pipe 1with the central valve 9 and the outer thread 22.

In addition, FIG. 11 shows the detailed view circled in FIG. 10 in theform of the integration of the holding fixture in the closing ring 41.The closing ring 41 is connected to the collar 42 on the holdingfixture. At the same time, the capsule 10 with its collar 43 lies in theholding fixture 5 and is particularly tight thanks to the uniform coneof approx. 7°. It should also be mentioned that in order to adjust tothe closing ring 41, the capsule 10 has a section 45 between the collar43 and its actual wall 44, in which the wall of the capsule 10 runsexactly parallel to the longitudinal axis 46.

Finally, FIG. 12 represents a cross section. The reference 6 indicatesthe suction hose, which can be moved in the direction of thelongitudinal axis 63 by applying pressure to the suction hose 6 in thedirection of arrow 50, either manually or via the control unit. Thesuction hose 6 has two hose sections 52 and 53 of different diameters.The section 53 of the suction hose 6 facing the heating chamber 4 has asmaller diameter than section 53 facing the receptacle not shown here,so that a collar 51 or stop is formed which acts on the spring 48 whenthe suction hose 6 is moved. It is conceivable to provide an inner hose49 here. Otherwise, the second hose section 53 is surrounded by thepressure spring 48 at its end facing the first hose section 52, or thespring housing 64 is integrated into the wall 47 of heating chamber 4facing the receptacle. It is clearly visible that the front end 65 ofthe second hose section 53 protrudes into heating chamber 4. A guide pinfor the suction hose 6 is marked 54.

1. A water pipe with a housing in which a receptacle, to be filled witha liquid medium and provided with at least one suction connection, and aheating chamber connected to this via a suction hose are integrated,whereby the heating chamber has a holding fixture for a capsule whichserves to contain a smoke medium, characterized by the fact that thereceptacle and a housing part containing an electronic unit areconnected so as to be detachable and a valve is provided in the areawhere the mouth of the suction hose opens into the receptacle.
 2. Thewater pipe according to claim 1, characterized by the fact that thevalve fits precisely on the suction hose protruding from the housingpart.
 3. The water pipe according to claim 1, characterized by the factthat the suction hose opens into a base of the receptacle from below. 4.The water pipe according to claim 3, characterized by the fact that thebase of the receptacle has a hollow space with an integrated centralmounting plate for fixing the suction hose.
 5. The water pipe accordingto claim 4, characterized by the fact that the suction hose opens intothe integrated central mounting plate.
 6. The water pipe according toclaim 1, characterized by the fact that the suction hose and the valveare arranged on a longitudinal axis of the housing.
 7. The water pipeaccording to claim 1, characterized by the fact that the mouth of thesuction hose is provided with seals in the base of the receptacle. 8.The water pipe according to claim 1, characterized by the fact that thereceptacle and the housing part containing the electronics are connectedto each other at a plurality of edges.
 9. The water pipe according toclaim 8, characterized by the fact that the receptacle and the housingpart containing the electronics are connected to each other via athread, a snap-in connection, a bayonet lock or a plug-in connection.10. The water pipe according to claim 9, characterized by the fact thatthe receptacle and a receptacle lid are connected to each other via oneof a second thread, a snap-in connection, a bayonet lock or a plug-inconnection.
 11. The water pipe according to claim 1, characterized bythe fact that the receptacle has an inwardly protruding collar at its anupper end and a sealing component is integrated into the a receptaclelid on its an underside facing the collar.
 12. The water pipe accordingto claim 1, characterized by the fact that the housing part containingthe electronics has switches, indicator lights, and connections, on anupper side.
 13. The water pipe according to claim 1, wherein thereceptacle comprises both a base and a lid.
 14. The water pipe accordingto claim 13, further comprising a seal where the suction hose enters thereceptacle.